Hebrews 11-23-31

Prayer for illumination: please join me in prayer….

Sermon introduction:

If you live long enough you will face a crisis. Many of you have faced multiple crises in the last year. Some of you have faced a health crisis. Some of you have faced a family crisis. Some of you have lost loved ones. Some of you have faced a work crisis. Some of you have faced a significant relational crisis. Some of you have faced a financial crisis. Some of you have experienced a school crisis.

Unfortunately, crises come in all shapes and sizes.

How do you respond when a crisis strikes? Some people panic, others plan like crazy, some work harder, others isolate themselves, manipulate others, or medicate with substances, food, or media.

None of these responses brings joy and peace!

How should we respond? This brings us to the book of Hebrews once again.

The recipients of this letter faced a crisis.

Hebrews 10:32–34 (ESV) — 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

The original audience experienced persecution and affliction simply for being Christians. Some even had their personal property vandalized. They were outcasts.

This was a crisis.

How should they respond to this crisis? How should you respond to crisis? We find the answer in Hebrews 11:23-31.

The author of Hebrews teaches us that the…

The key to surviving a crisis is faith (repeat). To help us understand this, we are going to look at four different crises.

Moses’s crisis Israel’s crisis Joshua’s crisis Rahab’s crisis

First, Moses’s crisis. Moses faced the crisis of Persecution!

Hebrews 11:23 (ESV) — 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

In roughly 1500 BC, the nation of Israel is flourishing in Egypt. Pharaoh feels threatened by the burgeoning Israelite population, so he orders all the Israelite infants to be slaughtered. Later he orders all the toddlers to be thrown to the crocodiles, literally (Ex. 1:15-22). By faith Moses’s parents hid Moses in a basket and then placed him in the Nile river hoping that he would escape death.

Hebrews 11:24 (ESV) — 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

Forty years after the infant Moses was discovered floating down the Nile river he is adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.

“Moses was known by the royal designation "son of Pharaoh's daughter" - a title of self-conscious dignity that is emphasized here in the Greek by the absence of definite articles. A modern equivalent might be Duke of York.” (K. Hughes)

At this point in world history the vast majority of the population lived in utter poverty. Moses lived among the top .000001%.

The reigning Egyptian family was part of Egypt’s nineteenth dynasty. They had access to massive amounts of wealth, prestige, privilege and status.

Moses probably ate the finest foods, possessed the finest education, wore the finest clothing, had the best vacations, drove the fanciest chariots, and knew all the right people.

But… that was all about to change!

Hebrews 11:24–28 (ESV) — 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

In his 40’s, Moses starts to identify more and more with the people of God, even though he lived in Pharaoh’s court. This caused him to be “mistreated” or persecuted.

He had to make a choice… with whom would he identify?

Identification with Pharaoh’s court meant wealth, women, power, and fame.

Identification with Christ and his people meant mistreatment in this life…. BUT eternal glory, pleasure, and honor in the life to come.

Which path would he chose? Which path would you chose?

Hebrews 11:26 (ESV) — 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. When the crisis of persecution came, Moses really believed that being mistreated for Christ’s sake, led to greater eternal treasure than all the treasures of Egypt.

The pleasure of sin is real, but it fades fast, and leads us broken, empty, and guilty. Suffering for Christ may hurt now, but it leads to long term joy and pleasure.

Short term pain, long term pleasure.

Illustration:

Famous athletes do this all the time, a little pain know for much greater long-term pleasure… Navy Seals… (hell weak) PhD students… seminary student who worked the swing shift at UPS with four small kids, while taking classes full time.

Application:

Moses faced the crisis of persecution.

The original audience faced a similar crisis.

They had two choices… They could forsake Christ and enjoy the pleasures of this world (keep their friends, keep their jobs, keep their stuff). Or they could cling to Christ and lose their jobs, their stuff, and their friends, but gain eternal glory later.

Only faith in the treasures of heaven will help us survive the crisis of persecution.

Matthew 5:11–12 (ESV) — 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Romans 8:18 (ESV) — 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV) — 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Eternity is forever… after 100 billion years, there will be 100 billion more years, followed by 100 billion more years, followed by 100 trillion years, followed by 100 trillion more cycles…

When all the stars in all the universe finally burn out, we will be in the infancy of eternity.

K. Hughes writes,

“I know what would produce such faith in each one of us. Sixty seconds in Heaven. Fifteen seconds to view the face of Christ (though it would be impossible to move our gaze after such a short time). Fifteen seconds to survey the angelic host. Fifteen seconds to glimpse Heaven's architecture. And fifteen seconds to behold the face of a loved one now glorified. That is all it would take. But God is not going to do that for any of us. I could pray until I was blue in the face, and I wouldn't get a second in Heaven until eternity.”

What got Moses through the crisis of persecution! Faith!!! By faith he believed the promises of eternal reward.

First, Moses’s crisis.

Second, Israel’s crisis

Israel faced the crisis of Pharaoh’s army!

Hebrews 11:29 (ESV) — 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

God raised up Moses to deliver the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Finally, after ten very costly plagues, Pharaoh let Israel go.

But… it did not take long for him to realize his massive mistake. He wanted the Israelite slaves back. He mounted his chariot and summoned the largest and most powerful army in the world to recapture the Israelites in the desert.

When the Egyptian army finally caught up with the Israelites, they were filled with Joy. Why? They had the Israelites trapped. The Israelites had nowhere to go. In front of them was the mighty Red Sea and behind them was the mightiest army on earth, and they are angry.

When Israelites saw the chariots (Modern day tanks) I’m sure most of them wet their pants, literally. Use your imagination. Hand to hand combat….

Exodus 14:10 (ESV) — 10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD.

But then, God said to Moses, “lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry land…” (Ex. 14:16)

So Moses stood there all night, with his hands raised to heaven, as he watched the east winds dry up the sea bed.

Exodus 14:22 (ESV) — 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Bu faith, the Israelites walked across the Red Sea on dry land. When the chariots pursued them, they were destroyed.

Apologetic sidebar. Do you expect me to believe this story? What is harder to believe? The waters parted or the universe leapt into existence out of nothing? If existence of something and not nothing is a far greater miracle. If God can do this, God can part the Red Sea.

Israel faced the crisis of Pharaoh’s army!

How did they survive their crisis? By faith.

According to Hebrews 11:29 “By faith” they walked through the Red Sea…

I’m sure some of the Israelites walked across the sea bed with great courage and confidence, saying, “Wow, this is amazing, God has rescued us, we are going to live, I never doubted, God is awesome, …”

I’m sure others walked across the sea bed terrified… “We are going to die, we are going to die, what is going to happens if the walls coming crashing down, what if the Egyptians get us?”

Here is the point… both groups were saved by faith. By faith, both groups walked across the dry seabed to safety.

Tim Keller writes,

"Imagine you are on a high cliff and lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight. How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don't actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why? It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. This means you don't have to wait for all doubts and fears to go away to take hold of Christ… It is not the depth and purity of your heart but the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf that saves us." (Keller, RFG)

The Israelites faced a crisis, by faith they conquered Pharaoh’s army. Some probably had strong faith and some probably had weak faith. They were all saved by the object of their faith.

First, Moses’s crisis. Second, Israel’s crisis.

Third, Joshua’s crisis

Joshua faced the crisis of Jericho!

Hebrews 11:30 (ESV) — 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

Moses is retired. Joshua leads Israel in his place. They are on the very edge of the promise land. The land God promised to Abraham 500 years earlier.

But there is a problem, blocking their entrance into the promise land is the city of Jericho. Jericho had high walls, locked gates, and archers on the walls. The city seemed impregnable. Most of the Israelites had probably never seen a walled, fortress city, before.

In Joshua chapter 6, God tells Jericho what to do.

God says,

“Joshua, I want you to gather all the fighting men of Israel and march around Jericho in complete silence once a day for six days (this probably took 25 minutes). Remember don’t say word. Don’t forget to place the arc of the Covenant in your midst. Why? It represents my presence. But then on the seventh day I want you to march around the city seven times. After your seventh lap, I want you to blow the horns as loud and long as you can and then shout with all your might.”

I’m sure Joshua thought, “Why don’t we just use our weapons? We have some battering rams, some ladders, some ropes, some bows, we can probably track down some other siege works.”

But God obeyed… this required serious faith!!!

Imagine a military doing this today… soldiers walking around a terrorist’s stronghold.

Nothing happened the first day, nothing happened the second day, nothing happened the third day.

Nothing… the walls did not budge or crumble.

Surely, the opposing army (the Amorites) mocked them ruthlessly from the towers high above the city walls. They probably thought, “What a bunch of idiots. They think they can conquer us by marching in circles.”

I bet some of the Israelites even agreed with the taunting.

But after the loud shout on day seven, the walls came tumbling down and Israel routed the armies of Jericho.

How did Joshua survive his crisis? He really believed that God could use the foolish to defeat his enemies…

Application:

We have a much greater enemy than Jericho. We battle against the flesh, the world, and the devil.

God means of defeating them was much more bizarre than marching in circles. God defeated our enemies by suffering and dying on the cross.

1 Corinthians 1:18–19 (ESV) — 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Christ death on the cross was the height of folly.

Yet, those who place all their hopes on the cross of Christ will be the only victors when Christ returns.

Are you placing all your hopes and fears on the crucifixion of the son of God?

This brings us to our last crisis.

First, Moses’s crisis. Second, Israel’s crisis. Third, Joshua’s crisis.

Fourth, Rahab’s crisis.

Rahab faced the crisis of violent death!

Hebrews 11:31 (ESV) — 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Before the Israelites marched around Jericho, Joshua sent two spies to the city of Jericho. The two spies take refuge in the home of Rahab the prostitute.

She is terrified…

Joshua 2:9–11 (ESV) — 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

The soldiers say to her,

“Look, if you promise to help us escape, we promise to spare your life when Israel destroys this city. If you want to live, place this scarlet rope in your window. That way we will know which house is yours.”

Later that night, she helps the soldiers escape. When Israel destroys the city, the spies keep their promise and preserve her family’s life.

How did Rahab escape her crisis? By faith, she helped the spies and she was saved.

Application:

This is an amazing story of God’s grace…

Rahab was a prostitute. Yet, she is commended for her faith several times in the Bible (Josh 2:1, 6:17, 22, 25, James 2:25).

According to Matthew 21:31-32 Jesus came for sinners, not the righteous.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because he wanted to forgive Rahab. He suffered and died on the cross because he wants to forgive you.

All of us, just like Rahab are sinners. And some of us are worse off than Rahab. Why? She had little knowledge of right and wrong.

On the other hand, we know the right thing to do and we don’t do it.

Furthermore, the sins of pride, greed, and anger are just as damming as the sin of prostitution.

Rahab was saved by faith.

There is no one who is too bad for God to rescue. There is no one who is too depraved. There is no one who is too dirty. No one is beyond God’s saving grace.

Not only did God forgive Rahab, he honored her…

How??

God the father sent Jesus through the line of Rahab the prostitute.

One author writes,

“Not only did Rahab live in Israel the rest of her life, but she married an Israelite and became an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus bears out the incredible truth: ". . . and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; and to Jesse was born David the king" (Matthew 1:4- 6, NASB). And Christ came from David's lineage!... How unutterably beautiful! The Amorite prostitute became a believer and then the wife of a prince of Judah. Rahab was a princess and ancestor of Christ!” (K. hughes)

Rahab’s faith saved her from the crisis of a violent death. Rahab’s faith allowed her to be forgiven by God. Rahab’s faith allowed her to be greatly honored by God.

Conclusion:

First, Moses’s crisis. Second, Israel’s crisis. Third, Joshua’s crisis. Fourth, Rahab’s crisis.

What crisis do you face?

We can survive any crisis by believing the promises of God.

Moses, Israel, Joshua, and Rahab believed the promises of God when they faced crises.

Yet, how much more, do we know about the promises of God under the new covenant???

We know that god promises to forgive all of our sins. We know that God promises to never leave us for forsake us. We know that God promises to give us resurrection bodies. We know that God promises to work all things for good.

I was talking to a friend who recently went through a hard spell, and I said, “look I know this sounds trite, but God promises to use all things for your good and his glory.”

It may be trite, but it is true… Wow… what a promise.

Yes, crises will come, they can’t be avoided. The Hebrew Christians face them. We will face them. How do we overcome? By faith, we believe the promises of God…